Photocatalytic activity and photo-electrochemical performance of trimetallic (Cu–Ni–Zn)/TiO2 coating on AISI 316L stainless steel for water treatment‏

Photocatalytic activity and photo-electrochemical performance of trimetallic (Cu–Ni–Zn)/TiO₂ coating on AISI 316L stainless steel for water treatment‏

Mona Khalaghi, Masoud Atapour, Mohamad Mohsen Momeni, Mohammad Reza Zaeri, Ghasem Ghaffari

Abstract

Trimetallic (Cu–Ni–Zn)-doped TiO2 photocatalyst was synthesized by the sol–gel method and deposited on AISI 316L stainless steel for industrial wastewater treatment. For comparison purpose, an undoped TiO2 coating was also prepared and investigated. SEM examinations revealed that the incorporation of Cu, Ni and Zn led to the formation of a uniform and compressed coating. The UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy confirmed that the addition of Cu, Ni and Zn into TiO2 coating reduced its band gap and improved its photocatalytic activity. Moreover, the corrosion tests (polarization and EIS examinations) in 3.5% NaCl solution under dark condition showed that the (Cu–Ni–Zn)/TiO2 coating exhibited superior corrosion performance compared with that obtained for undoped TiO2 coating. The water treatment evaluations were carried out utilizing methylene blue degradation, COD and BOD assessments on …

Applied Physics A